


Ain't That Kind of Fairy

by shadowolfhunter



Series: Fairy, fairy, so contrary [1]
Category: Grimm (TV)
Genre: Fae & Fairies, M/M, Secrets, Wings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-13
Updated: 2016-12-03
Packaged: 2018-08-30 18:13:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8543821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowolfhunter/pseuds/shadowolfhunter
Summary: It is safe to say that Nick is thoroughly infuriated with Sean Renard. Until he learns that there is a great deal more to the prophecy that Nick and Sean will make history together. Then Nick is outraged as well as infuriated.Sean has been hiding a big-ass secret his whole life, as his brother returns to town, backed up Sean's irritating cousin, Sean finds that everything that has led up to this moment is a drop in the ocean compared to what's coming.Black Claw? Hadrian's Wall? Who cares? The fate of the world hangs in the balance. Sean needs to put aside ambition, and secrecy and persuade Nick to work with him, fulfil the prophecy which has been hanging over their heads since Sean first laid eyes on Nick and knew that this was the Grimm he was destined for.He has to tell Nick the truth, and damn if that isn't the hardest part of it all.





	1. You're WHAT??

**Author's Note:**

> Where did this one come from?
> 
> Re-watching Maleficent for the sixth or seventh time, memories of Keith Allen as an out-of-work tooth fairy in a Listerine mouthwash ad, a bit of Caprica, a major dose of silliness and my lovely friend Jackie's beautiful wing tattoos on her back...
> 
> Stirred not shaken and seasoned to taste.
> 
> Yup... Everything that has gone before is drop in the ocean compared to the clanger that's coming.

Sean accepts that everything that has gone on over the last year or so, and everything that has made him Mayor of Portland is ample cause for Nick to hate his guts. He even accepts that while it was his hand that killed Conrad by driving a sword through the zauberbiest, it wasn't his intention to do so. He even accepts that his mother is seriously annoyed with him. That Nick is so pissed Sean cannot actually see a way back from where they are. But...

The fact, the annoying, inconvenient fact that Sean has been avoiding his entire life, the real deep down secret that has had him and his mother running for their lives since Sean was thirteen years old is not the fact of Sean's zauberbiest heritage.

He can number the people that know about this on the fingers of one hand, and still have fingers over.

His mother, Sean casts a glance in her direction and winces at the glare on her face. Elizabeth hasn't woged, somehow that makes her disapproval even more obvious.

And Rosalee.

The fuchsbau is perched on the small, slightly overstuffed, Queen Anne chair that was a gift from Sean's mother, and her disapproval is radiated from her in waves.

Six feet away a very angry Nick Burkhardt is pacing backwards and forwards, and Sean doesn't even need to look to know the waves of hatred positively roiling off his former ally would have Sean stone dead at Nick's feet. If looks really could kill.

Adalind is angry. She doesn't know why Sean is having this meeting, and she is really not happy to realise that her past is catching up with Sean again.

She has taken both children and stormed off. Sean doesn't know where. He's quite glad of that fact. If he doesn't know, he can't spill the beans. He examines the thing he thinks people would call his soul, and he really does love both children, Diana because she is his, and Kelly, because Kelly is... well... Kelly. 

The room also contains Monroe, Hank and Wu, because Sean really can't do this more than once and since the three of them are closely bound up in Nick's life.

"So." Nick pauses in his pacing and throws a truly venomous glance at Sean.

He's grimming so hard it makes Sean's head ache. Or possibly that's the whisky Sean consumed when he realised he now has no choice but to reveal the truth to Nick. And everyone else in the room.

Sean stands up, might as well get this over, it's not going to help, and the world is going to go to hell in ways that none of them could possibly imagine, because the danger is now greater than any of these Wesen groups could ever have dreamt.

Nick glares at Sean, wondering why the hell the man is unbuttoning his shirt. If it's to give Nick an opportunity and a clear target, Nick can do that without seeing the zauberbiest shirtless. Avoid that tiny, thoroughly inconvenient little voice in his head that still finds the big guy attractive.

Sean Renard is a lying, unprincipled, sneaky.... HOLY S***

Nick stares at Sean's back, the long beautiful tanned expanse of it, but that's not what Nick is staring at.

It's the wings, tattoos. Nick has never seen artwork that complex or that beautiful, the feathers seem... _oh my god_

It's an effort, Sean hasn't unfurled his wings in a long, long time. It hurts as they peel away, expand, he keeps them closed, just lying against his back, keeps his eyes closed too, because he doesn't want to see the disgust on Nick's face, because right now Sean cannot handle the vulnerability.

Elizabeth leans forward, "Sean, you have to tell him, all of it." Inwardly she sighs, aching for her son, but they are in this mess because of this Wesen stupidity, and the secret she had hoped would stay buried has to come out, truth be told she wouldn't even blame Nick if he rejected Sean, but this is last chance territory.

Sean stands there, beautiful black wings furled, feeling the warmth of his feathers against his back. Every second of silence the pain expands in his heart. Pain he never planned to acknowledge even existed, now thrusting inconveniently through his senses, tearing all his former resolve to shreds. Everything he thought he wanted, that he'd fought to get was ashes and he knew it.

"What the hell are you?"

The words themselves are aggressive, but the tone... this hushed note of wonder... a tiny crack of light appears in Sean's dark cloud of torment.

Sean opens his eyes. Nick is close, a foot away, looking straight into Sean's eyes, even if he closed them, Nick would still be there. Sean acknowledges that his oh-so-unfortunate feelings for the Grimm have come back stronger than ever.

"Fae..." Sean's voice is very small... This is, after all, shit he hasn't admitted to himself in three decades, he hasn't unfurled the wings for two... his shoulder blades ache with the weight of them.

"A what now?"

Suddenly Sean is angry, he didn't want any of this. "I'm a fairy... alright... a bloody fairy!" He growls.


	2. Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monroe, Hank and Wu watch nervously as Nick and Sean square off to each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meisner is not dead.

_Well you don't see that every day._ Hank takes a moment or two to adjust to their new reality. Their former captain is a fairy.

A six foot five, two hundred pound, fairy.

 _Yeah..._ He nods slowly. Reality has shown itself to be flexible since Hank first learnt about Wesen.

The wings are something else though. Hank watched the tattoos peel away from Renard's back, grow and expand, even furled, they're massive. They would have to be, to lift him, and that's another thing that he has to get his head around.

Sean Renard can fly.

Hank doesn't even need to ask that question, the glossy black wings, their feathers gleaming blues and greens in the light, arched above Renard's shoulders, sweeping the floor behind him. Those wings were made for flight.

 

At this point in time, Wu is pretty certain life actually holds no more surprises. Wesen exist. Who knew. (Nick and Hank before Wu, but Wu isn't going to be sore about that). His own Captain is a creature.

Just more of a creature than Wu had thought possible.

His fingers actually prickle with the need to touch. He shoves his hands in his pockets, because that's a liberty that he's not even going to try taking.

 

Monroe stares at Sean Renard's wings, knowing that the game has now completely changed. The ancient prophecy that a Grimm would find a winged mate and together they would bring peace and prosperity, well it's all jumbled in his head right now, because Captain Sean Renard is in great part responsible for the mess they are in now and Monroe is behind Nick on this one. Renard wants their backing, he's going to have to prove himself.

 

Nick no longer knows what to think. He hasn't let go of his anger and outrage at Sean's actions. And if Sean thinks that some prophecy and a pair of wings somehow mitigate everything that Sean has done to Nick... and to Adalind and Kelly... even Diana. Well Sean is wrong.

Sean's wings are quite the most beautiful thing Nick has ever seen in his life before....

Nick tamps down hard on that stray emotion. Whatever he feels for Sean Renard, he loves Adalind, and their son, and Sean stole Nick's family.

"So." He says, shrugging. "What is this" gesturing at Sean's wings, "supposed to mean?" He keeps his voice cold and hard, and suppresses the quiver at the pain in Sean's eyes as he whips round to face Nick. Sweeping three magazines and a plate off the coffee table.

There's an almost surreal moment when Monroe tries very hard not to laugh... because it is kinda funny. Wings that big were not made for indoors. Certainly not inside a modern house.

 

“How did it go?” Adalind asks hesitantly, she is in touch with Monroe and Rosalee, but not the fathers of her children. It’s better this way.

“Not well,” says Rosalee.

“In what way,” Adalind tilts her head, not unexpected, Nick has been very angry, and Sean… She’s momentarily surprised, what Sean feels actually does matter to her. All through his ridiculous posturing (and she has known him a long time) with Black Claw, he’s Diana’s father. She does care. Somewhat. It’s just that she loves Nick more.

“They fought.” Rosalee says reluctantly.

"Fought..."

"The coffee table will never be the same again, and the lounge probably needs redecorating..."

"That bad!"

 

"What was that bad?"

Adalind sighed and turned to her companion. "Nick and Sean fought."

Meisner eased back on the couch, he was still recovering. "Maybe they will get over it."

Adalind looked a little sceptical. "So you subscribe to this prophecy, Martin."

He hissed as the movement strained his badly bruised body, "I do." Adalind moved to adjust the cushions behind him, Meisner had saved her life more than once, and delivered Diana, she owed him more than a debt of gratitude.

 

"Remember the Harpies." Wu gazed off into space, Hank nodded.

"Like big angry seagulls..." Wu waved a hand expansively.

"This was worse..." Hank muttered. Getting his head around it.

"More like a pterodactyl really." 

Hank nodded again. "A really big, really really angry pterodactyl."

Nick gazed at his reflection in the mirror studying the scrapes and bruises, "a soon to be on the extinct again list pterodactyl."

 

"I told you how it would go." Sean scowled at his mother.

Elizabeth's expression gave nothing away. "Sean, you have to try."


	3. Rock(y) Bottom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It gets worse.
> 
> Monroe decides on a course of action.

They fought.

Back and forth, beating themselves to a standstill.

From two decades of no use at all, Sean's wings rapidly became his way to gain a slight advantage over the Grimm.

For his part, Nick's attacks got sneakier, trying to outwit his larger, heavier and now winged opponent.

Nick's Grimm and smaller size and speed made them very evenly matched.

The battle was going nowhere.

 

Nick held on with every ounce of strength and pounded his feet into Sean's body, the fairy zauberbiest had lifted off, Nick had a death grip on one wing, and around Sean's neck, the larger creature trying to fight him off. Their erratic flight path through the trees, barely seen from the ground.

Monroe swore, and tried to keep up. There was keeping up and then there was trying to stay out of range, because they lost sight of everything but their own rage, and he did not want to get caught up in this fight. He was also trying to keep Hank and Wu in the loop, which given as neither human had the strength or speed of a Grimm or pretty much every Wesen except possibly a siegbarste, was tough.

They crashed through some bushes, and Nick was nearly thrown free but clung to Sean's left wing, punching and kicking with all his might as Sean tried to shake him off. Then an almighty crash, and a very loud crack, and suddenly they were spinning and falling, and Nick had no time to duck or let go.

 

Everything hurt. Nick groaned and opened his eyes, he was resting on something warm, and he could feel it surrounding his body. It took him a moment to realise he was lying on a wing. Suddenly he had to be out of there. He scrambled free of the wing, trying not to touch anything, got upright on his feet and turned around, and that was when he realised something was very seriously wrong.

The wing was pulled back around its owner's body, protectively, which was when Nick saw the other wing.

The right wing was sprawled out on the ground, hanging at an angle that suggested that it might well be broken.

Sean was face down, arms curled over his head, folded into himself in a way that suggested he was really hurting.

_oh god_

"Sean..." Not even really aware of what he was doing, Nick fell to his knees beside the downed creature. He put his hand out tentatively to touch, but the wing was pulled away, an action which made the biest groan in pain and crawl to his knees, head hanging down, back hunched, trying to pull the injured wing in to his body.

Nick never wanted to hear that kind of pained noise from his zauberbiest ever again.

"Sean..." His shaking hand made contact with feathers, and Nick moved closer. Hands stroking the feathers, trying to soothe his injured creature.

And wasn’t that some kind of revelation. Sean was his creature.

Nick looked around frantically, they needed help.

 

Monroe heard the crash and winced, that did damage. He ran faster, _please let it not be Nick_ running through his head, his sense of relief when he caught up that Nick was still alive and on his feet was tempered by the shock at the state of Sean Renard.

Monroe looked around, they had fallen into a deep ravine, and knew that the only way Nick would be unharmed from such a fall, would be if Renard had somehow protected him as they landed. Looked down at the sprawled wing, heard the pained sounds as Renard attempted to pull it back in, re-furl it against his body, and made up his mind. This had to stop before they lost any more ground.


	4. You Broke Him, Now You Fix Him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monroe dishes some tough love.

"You can see how we can't really go to hospital with this, can't you?" Monroe is playing the reasonable card for all he's worth. A six five, two hundred pound fairy with a broken wing is an exposure risk to all Wesen. Especially as it's Mayor Elect, Sean Renard.

Nick's looking mutinous. "He stole Adalind, he sided with Black Claw, he tried to kill me."

"And I'm sure he's sorry for it," Monroe casts a glance at the creature on the ground, Renard's still kinda curled into himself, his good wing wrapped around his body, arms over his head, he's the very picture of misery and Monroe can't help feeling a little sorry for the guy. "You are? Sorry?" He addresses the fallen fairy.

Sean makes a non-committal sort of grunt, hurting too much to even articulate a word. Even the breeze ruffling the feathers on his right wing hurts. A tiny corner of his soul thinks it's all Nick's fault, knows that it really isn't but isn't quite prepared to let go of his anger and feelings of rejection just yet.

Nick crosses his arms tighter across his chest, unconvinced. "Not my problem."

Monroe rolls his eyes. "It's all our problem. Dude, we are not in a situation where we can take any chances. You broke him, now you have to help fix him."

Nick waves a hand at their surroundings. "There's no shelter, no food and no obvious water..."

"All taken care of," Monroe rubs his hands together at Nick's apparent capitulation. "Hank and Wu are mobilising necessities as we speak."

 

The next hour passes in a whirl as a tent, food, water and medical supplies arrive. Nick is a little taken aback at the enthusiasm that his friends put in to him and Sean working out their differences. Sean just lies there, ignoring everybody, even when the tent is erected over him.

Until Rosalee comes to set his wing.

"Sean, this is going to hurt a lot." Rosalee kneels next to the downed creature, she holds out something in a little vial, after a second or two, he takes it. He trusts Rosalee, in that moment he truly regrets everything that he's done for power, because he knows she has been hurt by it all. Yet she's still here to help him.

Rosalee reads the regret in his eyes, and the pain, knows it isn't all on Sean, that Black Claw have been insidious, and Nick and Hadrian's Wall, and even Sean's past have combined to bring them all here. Knows that it has taken a leap of faith for Sean to drink that potion, and feels a little humbled that he has decided to trust her without question.

She takes the vial from his hand, can't help but reach out and gently stroke a hand through his hair, "Count backwards from twenty for me." Knowing the stuff was strong, and it won't take long for him to pass out. His eyelids are already drooping when he reaches fifteen, and he's mumbling and slurring his words by ten. She continues her gentle stroking, somewhere in her heart she can't help wondering what would have happened if they had truly brought Sean in, broken down all those barriers that his disastrous childhood and paternal Royal family have built for him.

 

Fixing Sean's wing into position so that the damaged bones will knit together is quite the most unpleasant thing Nick has done in some time, just feeling the break grating, helping splint it and bind it so that it stays in place, helping immobilise Sean's right arm so that it's movement doesn't disturb the wing, wears him out. And somewhere inside he feels deeply for his injured creature.

That does not alter the fact that Sean has abandoned Nick, and sided with people who are a threat to all humans, and Nick is not okay with that.

Left alone with his thoughts and his slumbering injured zauberbiest, Nick ponders everything that has happened.

He's not okay with Sean taking Adalind, although he acknowledges that Diana is Sean's daughter, and Sean did have a prior claim. Adalind does not love Sean, and Nick is unhappy and uncomfortable with the coercion. 

Nick's own feelings towards Sean, he shies away from.

 

Sean wakes slowly, his whole right side is pain, and for a second he struggles against the restrictions, making it worse.

"Sssshhh..." Nick is there, holding Sean's head, helping him get some sips of water from a cup, and Sean would have relaxed into this wonderful touch if he hadn't felt Nick's reluctance to get even that close radiating off him in waves.

Pain and rejection make Sean snappish, and after a few awkward seconds, they retreat to savour their differing wounds, apart.


	5. Roughing It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick and Sean are alone.
> 
> There's a lot of water under the bridge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For appropriate mental image of what is going through their minds, may I recommend this...
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWPNKI24LFs
> 
> I'll wait while you go and watch it.

So. They're alone. In a tent. In the middle of nowhere.

Nick is trying very hard to pretend that he doesn't know that this is a crime scene tent, that the floor is largely made up of tarps and blankets that his friends introduced while Sean was out cold, and Nick's fairly certain that the bastard royal zauberbiest fairy's comfort comes higher on the list than does Nicholas Burkhardt's.

And it appears that everyone is in on this.

There are baskets with quilts and blankets. And, no doubt, pie. From the Eisbiber Lodge.

There are several boxes, which when examined seem to contain dried goods and tins. Together with a tin opener. There are a bunch of leaflets with that. And Nick rolls his eyes at those. He isn't the best cook in the world, but even he can figure most of this stuff out.

There are two low slung tables, both of which seem to have come from Rosalee's place. Since there are no chairs, but several cushions, Nick gathers that they are supposed to sit on the ground.

Sean has been given something that looks like a mattress, but Hank called a futon, the real thing, all the way from Japan. Nick's surprised it's long enough, Renard being a lot taller than the average Japanese man. Nick has an airbed. A green, shiny surfaced airbed that Nick is certain is going to deflate in the night, leaving him resting on hard and stony ground. Renard's mattress looks comfortable. He's lying half on his front, half on his side, his right arm and right wing firmly strapped to his body.

The shirt was shredded long ago, but the Captain's still wearing his suit trousers. Nick turns his attentions to the bags that have been packed for them both. Toiletries, clothes for Nick, some sleep pants for Renard. There's some (rather bossy) instructions from Rosalee on keeping Renard warm, and preventing him moving around too much, and looking after the injury. She's included some salve, and some teas and Nick is thinking that since the broken wing was pretty much entirely Renard's fault it's a little much to expect him to do all of this.

 

Nick looks across. Renard appears to be asleep, he's curled into himself, protecting his right side, in as much as he can. Now that he's asleep, and the blanket covering him has slipped down Nick can see bruising. Even in sleep, Nick can see pain in his expression.

He reaches out, and gently pulls one of the quilts out of its basket. He doesn't want to disturb the grumpy creature, but he can sympathise with the physical pain that Renard is suffering. He slinks closer and very gently pulls the quilt over the sleeping fairy.

Sean makes this noise, kind of contentment, but surprised sounding, and Nick can't help it, he rests a hand on the uninjured shoulder. Just a little gesture of togetherness.

Sean makes another contended sound and cuddles into the quilt. No such thing as a cuddly zauberbiest, but Nick feels a warmth that he hasn't felt in a long time towards Renard...Sean.

 

Every inch of Sean's body is now aching, the worst pain comes from his right wing. He tries to tough it out because he really doesn't want to ask Nick for anything. Mostly he's trying to pretend to be asleep. Then Nick covers him with a quilt, and the gentle touch to his left shoulder, and Sean's all confused again. The feelings he's spent the last five years sitting on are rushing to the fore, and his ability to keep a grip on them is majorly compromised.

He's stuck here, knowing that even getting to his feet is going to be a hard call, he's trapped with Nick, because there's no way he's climbing out of here with a broken wing and all that's running through his head is might have beens. Nick hates him, but occasionally Sean's tormented with little glimpses of what could have been.

Before Sean cut his losses and threw his lot in with Conrad.

 

Dinner is accomplished in mostly silence. Nick follows the directions, heats up the food on the little camping stove, puts the bowl and spoon in front of Renard and retreats. He cannot lose sight of facts here, whatever he's inconveniently feeling. Renard stole Adalind and Kelly. They're Nick's family. He finishes the bowl, and eyes his nemesis.

"Errr... Do you need help?"

Sean has been silently contemplating how he's going to manage, he's down an arm, he has a massive injured wing, just over eight feet when folded, which is inhibiting his movement, the idea of shedding his pants, and changing into sleep pants without help just isn't happening.

Grudgingly he nods.

A deeply uncomfortable fifteen minutes pass, where Sean and Nick are physically closer than they have been for a long time, emotionally is a whole other place. Finally Sean's dressed in sleep pants and manages to lie down on his good side without Nick's help. He's taken what Rosalee left for him for the pain, hoping it will grant him oblivion from his feelings too.

Nick readies himself for the night, taking the mattress on the other side of Renard. Hoping that this ordeal will soon be over, because he's never felt more confused.

 

Nick stirs, it's chilly, and he's not used to sleeping out. Briefly he contemplates getting up to find another quilt, a movement catches his eye.

Sean appears to be asleep, Nick watches in disbelief as the left wing unfurls itself, stretches out, is snatched back again. Nick turns over, why should he care?

He dozes for a while, somewhere on the edge of sleep, as the wing slowly unfurls again, and Nick snuggles into the downy warm feathers as they cover his body, shifting closer to his biest in sleep.


	6. Rough and smooth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick gets a little flashback...

Nick is beautifully warm and surprisingly comfortable, given that he normally doesn't sleep outside on a rather saggy air mattress that he's clearly failed to fully inflate. There's something between his body and harsh reality. It's warm and some of it feels silky and the rest feels downy and soft against his cheek. He opens his eyes, slowly, half certain he remembers why he's feeling like this, the rest of him not sure what to think.

He's being cuddled, and there really is no other word for it, by a wing.

A big, blue-green-black wing.

Attached to a being that until three weeks ago, Nick would have said did not exist. But even though there are apparently six foot five inch fairies in the world, that's not an excuse.

He moves a little, finds his body is being cradled by the wing. 

It's nice. Nick can't help it. He needs some down time from the stresses of everything, and the wing offers some real comfort. He snuggles into the soft feathers, and they wrap a little tighter. 

An image pops into Nick's mind, falling, the world spinning, the ground rushing towards him, no time to duck, no time to roll or break his fall in anyway, at the very last second the wing he's been clinging to wraps tight around him, and he's turning in mid air. Just before impact he realises that Sean has turned over, and is taking the brunt of the impact on his right side.

Nick's fingers still where they have been stroking the edge of the wing.

Sean did that for him. A fall from that height would have killed Nick in all probability. Nick wanted to kill Sean, yet Sean saved Nick's life.

Why?

It isn't as though Sean didn't want Nick dead.

A little voice popped into Nick's mind, something about unconscious desires being the true motivator of actions.

Sean had risked his life to save Nick's. This wasn't like the musai, or Sean's brother, this was a time where Sean had more to lose apparently, than to gain by saving Nick Burkhardt.

Why?

Nick stroked the edge of the wing, a soothing calming motion, as the wing shifted a little and wrapped itself around Nick's body, tugging Nick a little closer to the warmth of Sean's body.

Despite the chill of the air outside, Nick had to think. He needed to get away for a while, put this information in context. Sean saved Nick's life. Risked his own to save Nick. It made no sense.

 

Sean felt Nick leave, and buried his face in the pillow. He had his pride, and as much as he wanted Nick to stay, he wasn't going to ask. He felt worse than the day before, being down an arm, severely limited by the bruising that flourished from shoulder to knee, a broken wing, he was a sorry state and he knew it. Everything hurt. Getting to his feet was probably out of the question, so he lay as still as possible, and tried not to breathe too hard.

 

Nick wanders around their limited space trying to make the pieces fit. He was a detective, he was good at this, _you're a detective, so detect!_ , the trouble was, the pieces didn't add up to what Nick thought he knew.

Sean had stolen Adalind... okay, Nick could empathise with Diana being Sean's daughter, but that was not reason to throw in with Black Claw. Or take Adalind. And Kelly was Nick's son. Sean had stolen Kelly too.

Sean would have let Nick die at Conrad's hand, Nick could see that. But Sean didn't. He'd killed Conrad himself

It boiled down to that unconscious desire thing again. Sean's hidden desire had always been to save Nick. To tie Nick to Portland, because tying Nick to Portland, would be to tie Nick to Sean.

Back to that brief moment in time when they saved Sean from Jack. That moment when their Sean was back, before all hell broke loose again. Nick and Sean... The Grimm tried to make sense of that moment, and how it had all gone so very wrong. How had they come to that pass?

Remembering the fear in Sean's eyes that night, torn from sleep, aware that something was terribly wrong, being forced by another entity to carry out acts against his will. the genuine pain on his face at the death of a woman he had been able to call friend, cuffed in the back of the patrol car, people looking at him in fear and suspicion, and Nick felt this may have hurt the proud and solitary creature the most. 

Sean was a solitary creature. Always a little aloof, apart from the others, and Nick finally got that, got that the man's pride and less than social upbringing had left him stranded and clueless in a world that could be so unthinkingly cruel.

That Nick himself may have been unthinkingly cruel, when they just cut Sean loose, without anyone bothering too much what the man might have been suffering.

Small wonder that the man had chosen to protect himself.

And Nick.

That was what it did come down to. Sean Renard could have died saving Nick from that fall.

 

The tent was quiet when Nick re-entered it. Sean hadn't moved from where Nick left him, the quilt had slipped, like the blanket, and Nick re-positioned both as he waited for his biest to wake.


	7. Counselling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> or Rosalee attempts, with infinite patience, to fix their social dysfunction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unashamed cute wingness

".... and then there's the nightmare," Rosalee smiled and nodded, artfully concealing her splutter of surprise with a fake cough. Nick never noticed as he rambled on, "I woke to find myself schmooshed against his back, I thought I was going to suffocate before I got myself out of there. I am pretty sure it's the same nightmare, because it keeps happening."

"Sch..mooshed" Rosalee's voice cracked just a little, and for a second her inner fuchsbau twitched with the effort of holding her giggles in.

"What would you call it if an eight foot long wing squashed you flat against its owner's back." Nick looked indignant. "I couldn't move. I thought he was trying to kill me, and then he started making these weird noises, and I realised he was dreaming... So I managed to break free."

Suddenly Rosalee was very glad they were outside the tent, "anyway," Nick stopped pacing and then he was staring that the ground, and Rosalee could feel the waves of distress coming from his very soul, "it's like when he's awake, he hates me, I can't get close, he won't even let me touch him. When he's asleep he has this same dream over and over again, and he protects me. Keeps me from dying." Nick looked up, and Rosalee gasped at the sorrow and pain on his face. "Sean puts my life before his, every time. I keep thinking back to Jack, and what we did to get Jack out of him, then we just dismissed him, let him go..." Nick's voice was shaky, "what did I do?"

She had noticed that the last couple of times she had come to check on Sean's injuries. The wing didn't seem to be improving. And Sean seemed to be using his good wing like a shield. He was running a temperature, and doing everything in his power to keep everyone at wing's length. The only person he seemed happy to let touch him was Rosalee.

He was hurt and sick, and distressed, at this point Rosalee was starting to wonder if they were doing more harm than good, because she was scared that they were going to lose him.

"I don't know Nick, and I don't know if we can fix any of this." She had to be honest with him, Sean was a lot more messed up than whatever Jack did to his soul, Black Claw had done a real number on Sean's psyche, and it seemed as though some of it at least was unfixable. She sighed, and patted Nick's hand "it doesn't mean we can't try."

 

"Sean." Rosalee kept her voice soft, he seemed weaker than when she saw him a couple of days ago, and the last time she had startled him, she had narrowly avoided being knocked on her ass by eight foot of very powerful wing. "Sean." The magnificent iridescent wing rose, arched, and gently slipped behind her. His green eyes regarded her through a veil of lashes as she slipped a hand over the gorgeous appendage and stroked his feathers gently.

Since his wings were stuck, out, he seemed to be less suave, sophisticated Royal zauberbiest, and more like the older, more primal creature that he truly was. She didn't know how this worked, but he seemed to have inherited something very powerful and very ancient from his mother's bloodline, and now his wings were out, even damaged, he seemed to be drawing on something more magical from the mists of time to stay alive. The only person he seemed able or willing to trust was Rosalee, she suspected that Nick left him feeling vulnerable, and since Sean thought that all Nick did for him was leave him vulnerable, the Captain had backed right off. Keeping Nick at wing's length had become his everyday thing. He used his uninjured wing to push Nick away when he was awake, to gather Nick close and protect him fiercely when he was asleep.

Unconscious desires.

Sean loved Nick, deeply and everlastingly, and Rosalee was going to do whatever she could to help them come together.

 

He was changing, he knew it. The petty foolishness of his paternal family and his own strange need for power was dwindling. He didn't need it. Being the mayor didn't matter. There was this part of him that didn't want to hide his wings any more, hadn't since they had started to manifest themselves again ever since Jack was drawn out of him. Apparently, his inner faeness was going to protect him at all costs, whether he wanted it to or not. And Sean was glad.

He revelled in Rosalee's soft touch, her inner strength and gentleness. Her hard won inner peace. She wasn't perfect, but she never pretended to be, and Sean could love her for it. Did love her.

 

He felt peace when she touched him, and it seemed to do as much for his own demons as her potions did for his injuries. So Rosalee sat a while in the shade of the huge wing, and tenderly stroked it, watched his emotions rise to the surface, and just let him be at peace with it and with himself, because tending to his wing was going to hurt.


End file.
